WINDCREST, Texas – Windcrest Police Department Chief Jimmie Cole was placed on leave this week amid calls from residents asking him to step down or lose his job.
Cole was placed on leave before Monday’s city council meeting, an attorney representing the City of Windcrest confirmed to KSAT Investigates on Wednesday afternoon.
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It is unclear if residents were aware of the administrative action taken by the city. Multiple people who spoke during Monday’s meeting called on Cole to step aside or be terminated.
A KSAT Investigates report on Tuesday revealed numerous morale issues within the department and complaints about Cole’s leadership.
An employee engagement survey, conducted in June and July of this year, had a response rate of nearly 96% and left Windcrest with an overall rating in the bottom 5% ever recorded by the company that administered it, a summary of the findings obtained by KSAT shows.
Many of the critical comments were directed at the police department and Cole specifically, records show.
The Key Findings section of the survey results stated that there is a strong dissatisfaction with compensation and employee benefits as well as a “strong dissatisfaction with some leaders, especially the Police Chief.”
The same Key Findings section noted that the organization’s culture is weak.
“The Police Department’s culture is highly toxic,” page 6 of the survey results states.
Multiple Windcrest Police Department employees spoke with KSAT in recent weeks about workplace issues under Cole, who was promoted to the position after the previous chief left in late 2022.
“At some point, if issues are not addressed, there may not be much of a department to work for the residents,” one police employee told KSAT.
When asked specifically by KSAT to describe Cole, a second employee said, “Ego, control, poor leadership.”
“If I could quote him, it would be, ‘I’m the chief, and they’re going to do whatever the ‘F’ I want.’ And if that doesn’t say enough about his leadership style,” a police employee told KSAT.
Cole, in a written statement released through an attorney, provided specific responses about his leadership style and whether he runs the department based on intimidation.
“I do not believe I ever made a comment like that. I have made comments noting that as the chief of police, I am the one responsible for the department and the actions of the officers. So, I have a responsibility to the public to make sure the department operates correctly. However, a great many issues are addressed through the chain of command. While I am briefed on most issues addressed by command staff, I do not take a tyrannical approach to handling problems, which is what that improper quote implies. My management style is not based on intimidation by any means. I believe in a collaborative approach and involve my senior command staff in a great many discussions before decisions are made. Everyone is treated fairly. As law enforcement officers everyone in the department is sworn to protect the public and enforce the law. This includes following department regulations. I have had officers who believed they were above the rules or that the rules do not apply to them. That type of perspective has no place in the Windcrest Police Department. In the past, officers have learned from their mistakes, adjusted, and become productive members of the department. Others have not. I do not know who made the comments regarding running the department through intimidation as the employee survey was anonymous. As a result, I cannot speak to why individuals may have that belief. I can say that rules are applied uniformly and fairly and I collaborate with command staff regarding their application.”
Chief Cole criticized over ethics complaints filed against councilmembers, private citizens
Cole has also been harshly criticized in public meetings in recent weeks over his decision to file city ethics complaints against council members as well as private citizens.
A councilman on Monday said Cole included the summary of the survey results in an ethics complaint binder, which prevented the council from discussing the results until the complaints were resolved.
An attorney representing a Windcrest resident sent city leadership a cease-and-desist letter last month, stating Cole has also filed city ethics complaints against residents.
These complaints are typically filed against elected officials, appointed officials or city employees, Windcrest records show.
“The City’s website states that the Ethics Commission ‘has the authority and duty to investigate written complaints of alleged unethical behavior by a member of the City Council or a member of a City-appointed board, commission or committee and to make a recommendation to the City Council on the complaint and potential action, if any.’ Thus, by the City’s written admission, the Ethics Commission does not have authority to investigate private citizens,” the Nov. 11 letter states. “It certainly appears that one or more City officials are attempting to weaponize the tools of government to silence, intimidate, or harass those who express unfavorable opinions of City officials. If the Ethics Commission allows itself to be used for such purposes, it is shameful and unlawful. If any resident of the City of Windcrest wants the Chief of Police or any other City official to be fired, that is certainly not an ‘ethics violation.’ On the contrary, it is speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Attempting to intimidate, harass, or punish private citizens for expressing their opinions on matters of public concern, including who should be entrusted with positions of power within the City government, is both outrageous and unlawful.”
Lt. David Ellis has been temporarily appointed to lead the department’s day-to-day operations in Cole’s absence.
Officials have not said why Cole was placed on leave or how long he is expected to be away from the department.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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